Ayanna Pressley votes no on debt deal

Rep. Ayanna Pressley wasn't among her Democratic colleagues when the U.S. House agreed a deal to raise the debt ceiling until 2025 in exchange for cuts to the budget deficit.

Why it matters: The bill was crucial to preventing the country from defaulting on its debt — which Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had said could happen soon.

• But some Democrats, like Pressley, voted no on the measure, saying the deal cut too deeply into Democratic priorities and should not end the moratorium on student loan payments.

Driving the news: The bipartisan agreement hashed out between President Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy passed 314-117.

• 165 Democrats and 149 Republicans voted for it, while 46 Democrats and 71 Republicans were against it.

What they're saying: "I could not in good conscience support a bill that takes food away from hungry people, forces borrowers back into our broken student loan system, and perpetuates environmental injustice..." Pressley wrote in a statement after the vote.

• Pressley sponsored an amendment, defeated by the House, to maintain the student loan moratorium that's been in place since 2020.
• Rep. Jim McGovern of Worcester was the only other member of the Massachusetts House delegation to vote against the deal.
• Both U.S. Senators from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, voted against the bill last night for similar reasons.